Use of Information Technologies in Developing Foreign Language Competence for Professional Interaction of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students Specializing in Mineral Resources

Abstract

The article aims to investigate the available tools of current information tech-nologies used in teaching under-graduate and postgraduate students at a foreign language department of a higher technical education institution of mineral re-sources line, to assess the experience of using those technologies by the author of the article, to analyze the results achieved and to consider the ways of ex-panding the list of methodologies that apply the existing information technolo-gies in teaching foreign languages in higher technical education institutions in mineral re-source area. The article considers the following techniques: using the institution Internet portal to provide access to learning support materials, learn-ing plans, assignments and tests, remote teacher consultations, organizing of and participation in outside webinars and video conferences, and incorporating training programs with speech recognition modules. Foreign language compe-tence for professional interaction implies general basic knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, developing profession-related terminological vocabulary, and skills of face-to-face oral and written professional communication in the foreign language. The author analyzes the results based on surveying and feedback from undergraduate and postgraduate students and on long-term personal work experience in higher education. As a mid-term objective, the authors have be-gun a quantitative analysis of the effect of IT learning based on experience of distant teaching during COVID pandemic.